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Sunday, October 7, 2012

ONE FOR THE MONEY (2012)

Directed By: Julie Anne Robinson
Written By: Stacy Sherman, Karen Ray & Liz Brixius
Based On The Novel By: Janet Evanovich
Cinematography By: Jim Whitaker
Editor: Lisa Zeno Churgin
Cast: Katherine Heigel, Jason O'Mara, Sherri Shepherd, Debbie Reynolds, Debra Monk, John Leguizamo, Daniel Sunjata, Fisher Stevens, Annie Parisse
Jersey girl Stephanie Plum after losing her job, is broke. Needing a job she is told that her cousin, a bail bondsman, needs someone to help out in the office. But all he has are skip tracers. She learns that Joe Morelli, a guy she knew intimately years ago, is one of them. She eventually finds him but wasn't really prepared so he gets away. Another bounty hunter, Ranger tries to teach her. Eventually she finds him again but he claims he is innocent of the crime he is accused of and he is trying to prove his innocence. Eventually Stephanie thinks he's telling the truth so she stakes out the person who can help him but she only finds herself in trouble and Morelli saves her. She tries to find someone who can prove his innocence but problem is shortly after meeting with them they're killed or attacked.
Not that Katherine Heigel isn't talented. She is certainly nice to look at, but as the main character in this film. She comes off as weak. Its how the character is written. It fails her as the characterization is bland and that is how she plays her and it becomes perfectly obvious as all the other characters are so quirky and overplayed.
It plays less like a film and more like a pilot for a television series as the story is ripe with material, but the characters and situations played more for laughs and so inauthentic with more of a emphasis on colorful. It never feels real. Never makes you feel anything. It's totally predictable; you know what's going to happen in each scene. No sense of surprise. nor any real attempts.
It's like no one was trying. It looks like everything is filmed on a set. Since the film is set in New Jersey it also feels it gave the filmmakers permission to make the film look cheap. It feels like a studio quickie film from the 90's. When the movie studios were mass producing films that starred any actor of notoriety. Make the film cheaply with a high concept idea. Hoping the film caught on with audiences. If not they would disappear quickly and pushed heavily on Video. It made for many unmemorable films like this one. Which is based on a series of very successful novels, But this feels, again like rich material. Done with no character.
The film also does a disservice to its lead character. Who could have been a smart, Down To earth, Funny yet kick ass, do it herself action character. A female bounty Hunter, but makes her inept until she outsmarts the villain in the end. At least the film didn't depend on her only using her sex appeal to get what she needed.
This film is not only a disservice but a missed opportunity
Skip It.
GRADE: D